


Runaway Bride

by LOTSlover



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Heartbreak, Kissing, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-04 15:38:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12171819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LOTSlover/pseuds/LOTSlover
Summary: It's the day before Diana's wedding to another man. Is it too late for Bruce to tell her he loves her? BMWW. Two-part one-shot.





	1. Chapter 1

Runaway Bride

The ice in my glass clinks together as I down the last of the alcohol. I don’t even feel the burn of the scotch anymore as it slips down my throat and into my stomach. I instantly reach for the bottle again, filling my glass full once more in hopes of forgetting everything including my own name.

Tipping my head back, I gulp down the contents of my glass in a desperate attempt to drink myself into oblivion, to burn away the raw pain that has been eating away at my heart for months now. It all started the moment I found out she was dating Jack Kempton.

I honestly hadn’t seen it coming and I know that I should have. I’d pushed and shoved and cold-shouldered her enough that it was inevitable that she would give up and move on to someone else, someone who would truly give her everything she needed and deserved.

Jack and Diana had met at a charity function in Gotham eight months ago, hitting it off right away. I hadn’t thought much about it at the time, brushing aside my jealousy and turning my attention back to my date for the evening. I had assumed nothing more would come from the meeting, but I had been very wrong.

Their relationship had only grown from there, leading to marriage proposal within months of meeting. To say that I felt blindsided would be the understatement of the century. I never believed that Diana would move on so quickly, giving up on me so completely.

It was foolish of me to think that she’d always be there, waiting for my appearance on the Watchtower or to grace her with a rarely seen smile. It was positively arrogant and selfish of me to believe that she wouldn’t wait for me to deal with my issues.

The worst part of all of this is the fact that Jack is a good guy. He’s a lawyer in Gotham, possessing a noble conscience and loved by everyone who knows him. Now, he has Diana’s love as well. The thought nearly makes me insane with jealous rage, knowing that she has already given herself to him and not me. 

I take another drink, wishing that I could forget…wishing that I could burn away the memories that refuse to just leave me alone. I don’t want to remember her infectious smile or her jasmine scent that causes a fierce quiver in the pit of my stomach. I want to forget the way her sapphire eyes practically dance when she looks at me, the way that she makes my heart quicken every time she enters a room or how she makes the world a brighter and better place just because of her existence.

I never want to think about that silky raven mane that I’m aching to run my fingers through or the sound of her melodious laughter that melts the ice around my heart. I don’t want to want her…to want to kiss her senseless or to know the intimate feel of her skin against every inch of mine. 

Images of her giving herself to another man…a man that’s not me…torments my sleep and inflames my jealous ire. She could’ve been mine if I hadn’t been such a coward, if I hadn’t been so consumed with fears and doubts and fierce demons too many to count.

Instead of me, she’s marrying him tomorrow, building a life and making a family with him. I glance at the invitation lying on the desk, the gold cursive lettering glinting brightly off the cream colored paper. It should be my name that she’s taking tomorrow, my bed that she graces, my name that she screams as she gives herself so fully to me.

With a growl, I throw my glass across the room, watching as it shatters against the wall. My chest is heaving and tight, the pain in my chest too much to bear. I grab the bottle of scotch, tipping my head back and drinking my fill until it’s empty.

A cry of rage is torn from my chest as I throw the empty bottle as well, watching as it shatters into a thousand pieces and taking pleasure in it because that’s how my heart feels right now. How many chances had I been given and how many times did I turn and walk away, foolishly believing that she’d always be there?

My vision blurs as I turn my dark glower to the fire crackling in the fireplace. I move to stand before it, my hands coming to rest on the mantle as I stare bleary-eyed at the portrait of my parents. The smiles on their faces seem less bright…disapproving in a way as if reminding me how I screwed everything up, losing the only woman who has ever truly meant anything to me.

My fingers curl tightly against the wood, the pain in my heart nearly buckling my knees. I hang my head with the weight of my grief, my body trembling. It feels as though I’m back in that dark alley all over again, a scared little boy whose world has just crumbled down all around him.

Sometimes it feels like I’m never going to escape that alley, never be free from the demons that continually drag me back there. It feels as though I’ll never be able to fully draw air again, the chain that binds my heart never to be broken.

My chin falls to my chest as I attempt to draw a ragged breath, tears filling my eyes…tears that I haven’t shed since I was eight years old. She’s my light, my life, my heart and I’ve lost her. I love her like none other, with every fiber of my being and yet she doesn’t know. She thinks I only care for her as a friend despite our years of flirty banter and teasing innuendoes, her subtle attempts to try for something more with me.

“How long do you plan on wallowing in self pity?”

Alfred’s voice cuts through the torment that besieges me, causing me to raise my head slightly. “Not now, Alfred,” I growl in warning.

“So you’ve just given up?” Alfred asks me. “You’re not even going to try to find her and tell her how you feel?”

“It’s too late,” I bite out, rage right there beneath the surface snapping for release. “The wedding rehearsal is going on right now.”

“The rehearsal…not the actual wedding,” he points out. “She’s not married yet, Master Bruce.”

“She’s happy, Alfred…happy without me,” I ground out. “How can I go over there and tell her how I feel knowing it’ll only ruin her happiness?”

“Or it might just be what she needs to hear in order to make the right decision,” he counters.

I hang my head for a moment, trying to shove aside the fog that occupies my brain from the alcohol. “I…I can’t,” I weakly try again, finally turning to face him. “I had several chances and I walked away from her every damn time.”

“So you’re just going to walk away from her again? Give up on her?” he demands an answer. “Don’t you think that it’s high time you got your head out of your arse and stop walking away from her…to go to her this time instead of turning your back to her again?”

“What do you want me to do, Alfred?” I cry.

“Stop being a coward and go tell her how you feel about her before it’s too late,” Alfred evenly states in a tone that broke no room for argument.

“It’s not going to change anything,” I tell him, my shoulders sagging in defeat. “She doesn’t love me…not anymore. She’s in love with him.”

“You don’t know that for certain until you actually talk to her,” he gently says.

I stare at him for a long moment, my mind and my heart coming to a mutually agreed upon decision for once in my life. “Fine…I’ll go,” I softly reply.

“I’ll drive you,” Alfred informs me. “You bloody hell aren’t in any shape to drive yourself.”

I swallow hard as he hands me a cup of coffee to drink to help clear my head somewhat. I’m not a drinker, but since Diana got engaged to Jack, scotch and I have become constant companions. It’s not something that I’m proud of, but I know that it’s not the answer to my problems.

I’m tired of running—running from my issues, running from me, running from her.

I down the coffee in one gulp, running my fingers back through my hair in hopes of making myself appear somewhat presentable. I can’t believe that I’m actually going to do this, but I know that I have to try. Alfred is right. I’ve been a coward, but it ends tonight.

I’m going to tell her how I feel no matter how much it hurts, no matter if she ends up throwing me through a wall. At least I will know that she will walk down that aisle tomorrow knowing that there is another man out there that loves her with all that he has.

XXX

I enter the church to find it decorated in shades of plum and cream. It looks absolutely beautiful…so much like Diana in every way. I can see her touch everywhere I look—from the flowers to the tulle, the ribbon and the candles. My throat constricts as I realize this could have been our wedding that she had been preparing for, making my legs feel like lead.

I stay in the back in the shadows, sagging against a wall as I watch Jack talking with Clark and John. My eyes drift around the sanctuary over various people before finally falling on the object of my search standing on the far side with Shayera and Dinah.

She looks positively stunning in a plum colored dress, her hair pulled up into a twist. She’s laughing and talking excitedly, the sparkle of her blue eyes reaching me even from here. I’m completely mesmerized as I watch her, my heart hammering as her eyes finally meet mine.

Her expression shifts from happy to stunned and I instantly feel guilty for being the reason for it. She murmurs something to Shay and Dinah before making her way towards me. Furrow lines form between her eyebrows as she draws near me, a telltale sign that she’s worried. I find myself wanting to kiss away those worry lines, to put the smile back on her face.

“Bruce,” she greets me with a look of concern. “What are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

“Can we talk?” I ask, finding it difficult to breathe let alone make my mind work now that she’s standing right here before me.

“Of course,” she agrees, leading me from the sanctuary and outside into the night.

I follow her to a small garden right beside the church and I have no idea how or where to even begin. “Thank you for talking to me,” I mutter as my gaze falls on the large diamond engagement ring on her left ring fingers. It makes my stomach lurch knowing that ring wasn’t from me but another man.

I quickly my hands into my pockets to stop the tremble that trills through. The air is cool against my face, my breath creating tiny puffs of vapor. I’ve never felt so lost or so vulnerable in my entire life and all I want to do right now is run away, but I refuse to do that to her this time.

“Bruce, what’s wrong?” she asks again, her hand coming to rest on my forearm. “You’re starting to scare me.”

“I’m sorry,” I reply, finding it difficult to meet her compassionate gaze. “I just…I had to see you tonight.”

“Please, talk to me,” she tells me. “You’re my friend, Bruce. You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

I shake my head in frustration, my jaw clenching as I pull my hands free from my pockets. “I don’t want to be your friend, Diana…not anymore.”

“What?” she asks, stunned by my words and my sudden inability to tell her what I mean.

“I mean I want to be your friend, but I want more than that, Princess,” I say, my hands finding her upper arms to either keep her from running away from me or to keep me upright on legs that suddenly feel like rubber. “I know that I’ve pushed you away time and time again and I have no right to even be here let alone to say this to you now after everything we’ve been through.”

“Bruce, what are you talking about?” she asks, her voice growing softer as realization begins to fill her eyes.

“I know you’re going to marry Jack tomorrow and I had my chance, but I walked away from it…walked away from you,” I try again, my thoughts coming out in a rambling mess that makes no sense. “I hurt you, Princess, and I’m so sorry, but you have to know that I never meant to. I care deeply for you…more than I have ever cared for anyone else and—”

“Wh…what are you saying?” she murmurs, tears brimming in her eyes as she stares into my mine, searching for the truth of my words.

“I love you, Diana,” I softly tell her. “I’ve loved you for so very long, but I couldn’t tell you. I was so afraid of letting you in, terrified that I’d end up crushing your spirit or worse driving you away. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”

Diana slowly begins to shake her head, silent tears beginning to fall and I want nothing more than to take away the pain that I know that I’m causing her. It was a mistake coming here tonight, telling her something that I should have told her five years ago.

“You…you can’t…you just…I’m getting married tomorrow,” she stammers, her bottom lip trembling.

“Shhh…please, don’t cry, Princess,” I murmur, leaning in and kissing her face in a desperate attempt to erase her pain as well as her tears. “I love you so much it hurts.”

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close as my lips lightly ghost over her cheek, her chin…her jaw before finding her lips. I kiss her softly at first, tentative and filled with apprehension, but the pent up desire that has consumed me for so long takes over in a blink of an eye and my passion for her flares hotly in my core.

Before I realize it, I’m kissing her like a man dying of thirst, she my oasis and survival, my reason for living. She begins to return my kiss, her fingers fisting in my hair. I taste the saltiness of her tears on my lips and I kiss her even harder, trying to make up for the pain that I’ve caused her and silently praying that she’ll give me just once more chance.

Diana suddenly shoves me away, breathing hard as she stares at me in stunned disbelief. Her eyes are wide in horror at what she has just done and the pain in my chest returns with a fierce vengeance and nearly taking me to my knees. Anger replaces the anguish that swims in her eyes, the palm of her hand connecting with my face.

It stings, but it’s not as bad as it could have been. I could be picking my teeth up off the ground right now. “Diana, I’m so sorry,” I apologize as I slowly shake my head at what I’ve just done. “I had no right to kiss you.”

“Hera, Bruce!” she cries. “For five years I’ve tried to get you to admit that there was something between us and for five years you pushed me away…made me feel as though I meant nothing to you past teammates. Now, you show up the night before my wedding to tell me that you love me…that you’ve been in love with me this whole time?”

“I’m sorry, Diana,” I tell her again, my eyes falling closed with the weight of my guilt. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I had to tell you. I know that I missed my chance with you, but I needed you to know how I feel about you.”

“Well now that you have, you can leave,” she grounds out, hands fisted at her sides.

“Diana?”

I look behind me to find Jack entering the garden, concern on his face. “Hi, Jack,” I greet him, averting my eyes.

“Is everything all right?” he tentatively asks.

“Yes, Bruce was just leaving,” Diana tells him.

Jack looks from Diana to me and back again, knowing there is far more going on. The tension is near suffocating, both of our emotions raw. It’s more than obvious that there’s something there between Diana and me, but he doesn’t ask. “Are you coming tomorrow, Bruce?”

“I’m afraid I can’t make it, but I wanted to wish you and Diana all the best,” I reply, glancing at Diana who is glaring furiously at me. I can hardly blame her, though. I just ruined what was supposed to be the best moment of her life.

Even though I feel better confessing my love for her, I feel worse for causing her so much heartache. All I have done tonight is hurt this amazing woman, bringing her pain at every turn. I don’t deserve her and if she never talks to me again I know that I’ll have no one to blame but myself.

“Thank you for coming, Bruce,” Jack tells me, his shoulders sagging a little.

I silently nod, forcing a small smile to my face as I turn and leave, knowing that Jack suspects more is going on than what either of us has revealed. As I walk away, I hear Jack talking quietly to Diana, barraging her with questions and yet trying to comfort her.

I want nothing more than to march back there and take her into my arms, to whisk her away from here and live out every single dream that I’ve ever had about her. I’m sure she hates me now, though. I’ve just destroyed her heart and her happiness, leaving her reeling with something that I should have told her years ago.

I return to Alfred and the waiting car, my heart nothing but jagged pieces lying in my chest. Alfred doesn’t say a word as he opens the back door of the car for me. I get inside, sagging back against the leather car seat. I close my eyes as we drive away, tears that I’d been holding in for years finally slipping free.

XXX

Standing in my library, I gaze out over the grounds of Wayne Manor, my thoughts miles away from here. Diana will be getting married in an hour and I know that my life is in effect over. I’m going to die all alone just like the old Bruce that I had met in the future, without knowing her love or being able to fully love her in return.

I know that I’ll never love another woman. Diana has my heart…has had it for years and it’ll never really be mine again. I try to tell myself that I should be happy for her. She’s marrying a good man that will take care of her and love her like she deserves, but it’s more than difficult.

I feel as though a piece of me is dying inside, losing a part of myself that I can never get back. I have no one to blame but myself for losing the only woman who has truly meant everything to me. Of course, I haven’t lost her because she was never truly mine to begin with.

I take a sip of my coffee, trying to push the pain away, but it consumes every fiber of my being. I didn’t even bother going out on patrol last night. I couldn’t bring myself to put on the uniform…to become the very reason that I continually drove her away. Besides, I was too afraid I’d take my pain and rage out on the poor, unsuspecting criminals that had the unfortunate timing to cross paths with me.

Sleep hadn’t come either, my mind racing with things that only made me ill to my core. I couldn’t stop thinking about her being with Jack, picturing what their children would look like, imagining being forced to sit through Founders’ meetings beside her knowing that she married to another.

I’m not sure that I can handle being around her any longer, going on missions with her and fighting by her side. I’ve already decided to resign from the Justice League effectively immediately. I’ll continue to fund it, but they don’t need me up there skulking about or brooding over what could have been.

I’m just going to focus on Gotham now, hoping that I’ll be able to forget her in time, but I know that I won’t be able to. She’s a part of me, owning my heart. She’s touched me in so many ways that I hadn’t even noticed until now that she’s going to belong to another.

How do I always manage to screw up everything in my life? I can track killers, solve complicated cases and take on the worst that the world has to offer, but, when it comes to matters of the heart, I’m completely inept and incapable of navigating those waters where emotions are involved.

I draw a ragged breath, thoughts of getting drunk drifting through my mind, but I quickly banish it. Alcohol is not the answer to my problems. My life has been on a downhill slide since Diana began dating Jack and I need to get myself back on track. Throwing myself fully into Gotham is the only thing I know how to do to fix that, burying myself in work and shutting off my emotions.

I momentarily close my eyes, images of Diana crying in that garden outside of the church last night piercing my heart all over again. I know that I shouldn’t have kissed her, but there was just such an overwhelming need in me to make it better, to show her how much I love her.

Alfred had thankfully let me be after returning home. He hadn’t asked any questions, hadn’t barraged me with empty words meant to comfort me. He could see from the look on my face that things hadn’t gone well; knowing that nothing in this world could possibly erase the heartrending pain that is attempting to crush me. 

I told Alfred that he should go to the wedding, knowing how close he and Diana had become, but he had refused to leave me. He’s been giving me my space this morning, allowing me to brood and try to work through all of this on my own.

I glance at my watch for the millionth time this morning. She should be walking down the aisle in half an hour, no doubt looking more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her. She’ll be shining that dazzling smile on Jack as she walks towards the front of the sanctuary, moving with incredible grace and regality that is just a part of who she is.

I hang my head with overwhelming grief. It should be me up there waiting for her, me that she is walking towards. It should be me slipping that wedding band on her finger, me that she kisses as the minister pronounces us husband and wife.

I swallow back the thick knot of tears that lodge in my throat as the doorbell rings. I set my coffee cup down as I exit the library, yelling to Alfred that I’ll get it. With heavy footsteps I make my way to the front door, not really wanting to see anyone right now; however, I know I can’t hide in the manor or my cave forever no matter how desperately I want to.

Opening the door, I’m stunned senseless to find Diana standing there in her white wedding dress, my breath catching at the sight of her. Three quarter length sleeves cover her arms, a fitted bodice hugging her feminine curves like a second skin. The full skirt is white tulle with white appliqué flowers. Her raven curls cascade over her shoulders and down her back, her sapphire eyes storming with so much emotion that I can’t look away. To say that she’s breathtaking would be an understatement.

“Diana,” I breathe her name, unable to make my mind work let alone my voice at this moment.

“I love you too,” she confesses as a tear slowly slips down her cheek.

My arms circle her waist, my lips capturing hers in a heated kiss before either of us can say another word. Her hands settle on the back of my neck, pulling me closer as I deepen the kiss, both of us kissing each other with a frantic need that’s finally been unleashed. I crush her to me with a fierce possessiveness that is unmistakable, picking her up and bringing her inside.

I kick the door closed behind me without a second thought as I continue to kiss her, more than thrilled that she is here. She is here with me and she is mine…my runaway bride…and I’m never letting her go.


	2. Chapter 2

Runaway Bride Part II

The feel of warm sunlight streaming through a nearby window stirs me out of a deep sleep. Before I even open my eyes I can feel my lips beginning to curl into a giddy smile that I can’t even begin to suppress nor would I ever want to.

Last night, I had been all set to marry Jack, to become his wife and partner in life…to be the mother of his children someday…to settle down in Gotham. Then, Bruce had arrived at my wedding rehearsal and turned my world upside down in that infuriating way that he always has.

He told me that he loved me…has been in love with me for years, but he hadn’t been able to tell me out of fear. I remember the look of pure anguish that swam in his azure eyes as he confessed his feelings for me, could practically taste his fear that seemed to permeate the very air around us. It had been near suffocating.

For the first time since I had met him, Bruce seemed so small tome, so completely vulnerable and broken. He had allowed me to see parts of himself in that brief encounter that he’d never let me see before, all the sharp and jagged and dreadful parts of him, the pieces that he was too scared to show anyone. It had all been right there for me to see and I had reacted so badly.

I have loved him for so long, gently prodding him and alluding to something more with him only to be shoved aside as if I never meant anything to him past being his teammate. All of my anger and hurt and frustration had come pouring out in that moment of unexpected revelation as the tears slipped down my cheeks. He had kissed me and it had been wonderful, but then I had slapped him, my fury fully taking over as realization flooded me. I was betraying Jack.

I had been waiting for Bruce for so long, finally moving on and finding love with a good man who treated me just like the title that I bear as the daughter of a queen. I thought that I had gotten past my feelings for Bruce, but, in that singular moment, all of those feelings of love and lust, desire and need came rushing back to the surface just as strong and burning just as bright as ever before. It was like the last several months with Jack had never existed.

The revelation had been terrifying and exciting all at the same time, overwhelming me with the intensity and the strength of my feelings for him. They had never truly died or diminished in the least despite my best attempts to bury them and forget that they ever existed, telling myself he was nothing more than a friend.

I thought that Jack had no idea what had happened last night between Bruce and me when he had found us in the garden, never knowing that I had been in love with another, but he somehow knew. He had put the pieces together and figured out that Bruce was the man that I loved despite me never telling him about it.

I had refused to talk to Jack about the incident with Bruce last night, insisting that everything was fine…that we were still fine. This morning, however, had been a very different story. After a sleepless night, I had found myself needing to talk to my fiancé, to confess to him the truth. It was only fair that he knew where my heart lay.

I’ll never forget the expression on his face when he came to my room this morning and saw me in my wedding dress that I chosen just for him. His expression of joy mingled with a sense of sadness that I discovered in his eyes. That’s when I had realized it.

He already knew.

Jack told me that he had always felt that I had been holding a piece of myself back from him, my heart actually belonging to another, but he hadn’t wanted to believe it. He had thought with time that I’d eventually come to truly love him. After seeing me with Bruce last night, he finally understood who that man was and just how much I loved him.

I kissed him in that moment of heartbreak, tears in my eyes as I told him how very sorry I was that I hurt him. He had gently cupped my face, kissing me on the forehead before telling me that he only ever wanted me to be happy. He had hoped that he could be that person, but, deep down, he had known it wasn’t him. He told me to go and find happiness.

That was when I had run away…a runaway bride desperate to find the man that she truly loves with her whole being.

I open my eyes to find Bruce lying there on his back beside me, his expression so serene as he sleeps that it nearly makes me want to cry. I had actually been able to bring him a measure of peace and happiness in the midst of a life punctuated with such heart-rending pain. The thought alone fills me with warmth and contentment that I feel clear to my toes. 

Hera, I love this man so much.

I’ll never forget the look on his face when he opened the door to find me standing there in my wedding dress, hair mused from flying from New York City to Gotham just to see him. The vulnerable eight-year-old boy that I had seen last night was suddenly standing right there before me once again; afraid to believe I was actually standing there before him.

Then, I told him that I loved him too and the man that I knew was back again. This time, he was no longer afraid, no longer pushing me or running away, but pulling me to him and kissing me so passionately that I felt it to the very core of my being. I knew in that moment that I had made the right decision. I was where I was supposed to be with the man who had stolen my heart almost from the very beginning.

He picked me up in his arms, carrying me upstairs to his bedroom…the very room we haven’t left all day. Making love with him was more perfect than anything that I have ever imagined or dreamed it could be. We would fall asleep tangled in one another’s arms only to awaken the other all over again with a kiss or a caress in the most intimate of places. Then, passion would flare so hot I swore at times that it would consume us whole. It had never been like this with Jack, further confirming that I had been right in following my heart here to Bruce.

Glancing at the clock, I find that it’s already late afternoon…almost dinner time. Alfred had graciously parked a cart laden with food and drink outside of the bedroom, no doubt over the moon about the fact that Bruce and I had finally found our way to each other. Hera, I’ve missed Alfred and his fabulous cooking.

Deciding Bruce has slept long enough, I reach for a strawberry from the plate on my bedside table. I take a bite of the fruit before turning to face my prey again. I stealthily slide over him as the sheet covering us slips down my back, careful not to wake him just yet as my lips softly find his.

His hands instantly descend on my hips like a steel trap that has just been sprung, gripping me firmly and keeping me on top of him. He immediately responds to my kiss, moaning deep in his chest with the taste of the strawberry on my tongue. He is most definitely fully awake now and rapidly growing ready for another round of love making.

I break the kiss, smiling down at him with mischief no doubt shining in my eyes as well as my heated desire for this man. He looks up at me with love and lust in his penetrating gaze and I feel it rake over my skin in anticipation of what is about to come again. His one hand releases my hip, moving up to brush my hair behind my ear before coming to rest against my cheek.

“You are so very beautiful,” he softly murmurs with a sense of awe lacing his voice. “You have no idea how many times I’ve forgotten how to breathe whenever I look at you.”

No one ever looks at me the way that he does. Jack had a look of adoration when he stared at me, but it never did to me what Bruce’s stare alone can. When Bruce looks at me, my stomach flips and my breath catches, my heart quickens and I feel warmth erupt in my belly. I instantly feel such a rush of heated longing as if his eyes alone could seduce me, peeling back all my layers to see directly into my soul as if he’s known me long before I ever left Themyscira.

His look is filled with a mix of ardor and admiration, a yearning so bone deep it’s almost primal in nature. It awakens such a raw need inside of me that only he has ever been able to touch or awaken, only he has ever been able to satiate if only for a little while.

“I know I don’t deserve you, Diana, but I’m going to do everything in my power to try to make you happy,” he tells me, sincerity reflecting in his eyes.

“It’s not about deserving me, Bruce,” I reply with a shake of my head, pausing to brush my lips against his in reassurance. “It’s about allowing yourself to accept me into your life…to accept love and happiness in your life. That’s what I want to give you more than anything.”

“You already have, Princess,” he insists. “Now, it’s my turn to show you the same.”

“You have nothing to prove,” I try to assure him with a gentle shake of my head.

“I know that I hurt you, not only last night but for the last three years,” he tells me with great anguish. “Being with me is not going to be easy. I can be very hard to deal with. I’m moody and I brood…I ignore everyone around me when there’s a case that needs to be solved. I’m thoughtless and stubborn. I’m—”

I place a forefinger on his lips to silence him, my forehead creasing. “I already know all of that about you, Bruce, and I love you anyway,” I reply. “I’ve always loved you.”

He releases a shaky breath before his lips begin to kiss my finger. He takes the tip of it into his mouth, sucking greedily on it as his tongue begins to swirl around it. His piercing blue eyes darken with a lustful storm that I know he’s desperate to unleash on me all over again and I can hardly wait.

He releases my finger as he sits up, his mouth colliding with mine as his arms circle around me. He kisses me with a fierce hunger that is quickly driving me crazy. Retreating for air, he nuzzles my throat with his lips and nose, inhaling deeply and moaning softly as his fingers trace an exploring path over my skin.

“I’ve been in love with you for so long,” he murmurs, his fingers digging deeply into my hips as if holding on to me like a lifeline. “You have no idea how half-crazed I’ve been thinking that I’d lost you to Jack, imagining you in his bed.”

“Is that why you started drinking?” I softly ask, my fingers threading through his black hair as I gaze into his eyes.

He pauses in his assault to pull back to look at me and I immediately regret my words, missing the feel of his mouth against my skin. “How did you know about that?”

“I smelled it on you last night,” I admit, biting at my bottom lip. “You looked like hell, Bruce. It wasn’t that far of a stretch.”

“I might as well have looked like it because I’ve been living in it ever since you started dating Jack.”

“Bruce, why didn’t you ever say anything to me about it? Try to fight for me?” I question him. “I would have given you a chance.”

He averts his eyes, unable to look at me as he searches for the words to explain…to justify his actions for the last several months. “I was terrified of you,” he softly admits.

“Of me?” I gasp the question, stunned by his answer. “Why?”

“No one has ever been able to get to me like you have, Diana,” he begins to explain. “You found your way into my heart and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it or escape it. I didn’t know how to handle it so I tried to shut you out, to keep you at arms’ length.

“You were the first person to make me want to build a life with since Andrea. I was terrified of letting you in, but I was also terrified of letting you go. I’ve been so miserable, but last night I decided that I was tired of being a coward. I was sick of you not knowing the truth. I knew I had no right in coming there and telling you that I loved you the night before your wedding, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you walking down the aisle towards another man and not knowing how desperately I love you.”

Tears begin to blur my vision as I gaze at him, feeling overwhelmed by his heartfelt confession. It’s not like him to share his feelings and now he’s opened his heart to me twice since last night. I remind myself it won’t always be like this, but I’ll gladly take these little moments when I can get them.

My lips find his in a gentle, reassuring caress that gradually becomes anything but gentle. It’s fierce and full of fire, rough and passionate and demanding. It’s forgiving and accepting and it’s full of truth—truth about what we actually feel for one another, truth about our deep-seated need for each other, the truth about how right this is.

There are no more secrets between us now, no more hidden fears left to expose to the light. Our souls have been laid bare and I know with every fiber of my being that we may bend at times with whatever may come our way in the future, but we won’t break. We have each other now and that’s enough.

He possessively grasps my torso, his thumbs caressing my ribs and slowly driving me crazy with need for him. We begin to make love all over again, our breathing growing erratic. The air is filled with our mutual gasps and moans as we express our pleasure and the sheer enjoyment we’re finding in each other, letting one another know what excites us and what makes us completely lose control.

Fingers stroking…the mingling of our hot panting breaths as we come together as one feels like the first time all over again despite the fact this is our fourth…no, our fifth time giving ourselves to each other. His wandering hands set my skin on fire, each of his kisses scorching my flesh and I readily return the passion.

He’s all muscle and strength, so much power and passion tightly restrained in a mortal body being fully unleashed once again on me like a fierce tempest. I’ve longed for this for what feels like forever and now he’s all mine. This love…this passion is for me and only me and I will never let him go.

All too soon, we’re lying tangled up in each other’s arms, unable to tell where he ends and I begin and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I lightly trace over the countless scars on his chest with the tip of my forefinger, wishing that we could stay here like this forever.

The world is waiting for us out there, our responsibilities and duties vying for our attention and no doubt attempting to keep us apart. I know I’ll have to share him with Gotham and with the League as well as the world. It’s going to be difficult, but I hope that he’s willing to try to make time for us, to put some effort into this relationship.

He repeatedly runs his fingers through my hair, both of us just savoring the feel of our bodies connected like this…skin against skin as we laze in the afterglow of love making. I’ve never felt so content or happy in my entire life than I am right now. I know that it won’t always be like this, though.

There will inevitably be times that we’ll end up butting heads, arguing and refusing to back down. Our arguments are somewhat legendary amongst the League, considered to be the two most obstinate members in the Justice League. We always come away with great respect for one another despite the fact we’re angry with each other. I can’t help wondering how things will change between us now that we’re lovers.

Lovers.

That word alone sends tingles racing through my body knowing that we’re lovers now. Yesterday when I woke up, I had no idea that I would be in Bruce’s bed today, giving and taking pleasure…sharing such overwhelming passion. I can’t help but feel horrible for hurting Jack, making me wonder what he’s doing now.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks, breaking through my reverie. 

There’s almost an apprehensiveness to his question that piques my curiosity as to what he has been thinking about or better yet worrying about. “You and me…how I’m here with you instead of with Jack,” I sheepishly confess, turning my head to press my face into the crook of his neck.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head. “I know that I made a mess of everything.”

I lift my head to gaze at him, my fingers caressing his chest. “It’s not exactly all your fault, Bruce,” I tell him. “I wasn’t being honest with myself or Jack about my feelings. My heart belonged to you, but I ignored that fact, telling myself that I could move on and find love with someone else. I wasn't being fair to Jack.”

“But you didn’t know how I felt about you,” he points out.

“No, but I shouldn’t have forced a relationship that wasn’t what I truly wanted,” I admit. “I just hope that Jack can learn to forgive me someday.”

He leans down and presses his lips to mine, his mouth and tongue stirring a heated hunger in me that curls my toes. I hook my leg further over his, pressing myself against his hip to show him my need for him. He finally retreats much to my dismay, but continues to hold me close against him.

“If he truly loves you, Diana, he’ll want you to be happy,” he reminds me. “Me, on the other hand, probably not so much. I have a feeling that he’ll hate me for many years to come.”

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” I apologize, kissing his chest.

“Don’t be,” he says. “I have you and that’s all I need in my life.”

“I love you,” I whisper as I move to lie on top of him, my lips finding his again.

“I love you too, Princess,” he murmurs as his hands begin to roam over my back and I know in that moment that dinner is going to have to wait until later. Right now, we have a different appetite in need of satisfying.

With a squeal of surprise, I suddenly find myself on my back, his large masculine frame hovering over mine. “Promise me when we get married that you won’t be my runaway bride,” he teases me, but there is a sense of real fear invading his eyes.

“Never,” I promise him. “Once was more than enough.”

With a grin, he leans in and kisses me, his weight fully settling over me as the hunger that never seems to completely die between us comes to life all over again.

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, so this hit me out of nowhere and I wrote it in like three hours. It was going to be a one-shot, but by the time I got to the end of it I decided we needed to see Diana's thoughts and what happens after Bruce brings her inside the manor.
> 
> Working on a Suspicious Minds update so be looking for that in the next week or so.
> 
> Thanks all for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think! :)


End file.
